All hesitation about getting my mind focused on advisory has dissipated. I am fully geared-up for the advisory program I’m directing at the middle school.
First–several hours of imagining/reading/planning. I created approximately twenty pages of planning guide materials to use at a two-day planning session with about seven middle school staff members (teachers and counselors). Next, a five-hour planning session two days ago with the lead guidance counselor (my right-hand person in running advisory). He is skillful, insightful, and has great relationships with many staff members already… so his instincts on how to work with them are spot-on. Finally, attempts to contact the principal (with mixed success) regarding who would provide breakfast, making photocopies of planning manuals, and making sure we can provide adequate training for the entire staff on running advisory groups throughout the year.
Today–planning session in the middle school library from 8:30 to 12:30. The facility at this middle school is incredible. Hilltop location with sweeping views (not the norm for flatter Texas). State-of-the-art technology in the building. Thoughtful and attractive construction, including a sweeping entrance for students lit with sunrays during Austin’s 300 sunny days each year.
The teachers and counselors who participated this morning are smart, insightful, and full of heart. They talked about what we’re fighting against–how this middle school is considered Austin’s very worst, and how kids mention it as if it were a badge of courage. Of course, what else would they do? They know it’s mentioned in the larger community as “the worst.” Turn a negative into a positive? The lead guidance guy mentioned how he’d been at dinner with his wife and a couple friends, the friends having commented that they had heard that the middle school, in its one year of existence, has already been “trashed.” Hardly. My old school district (complete with some of the country’s highest property tax revenues) has no facilities which rival this one.
We developed a statement of purpose… We thoughtfully worked through what exactly we hope Garcia’s students (and staff) will get from advisory. Building relationships. Success. Self discovery. The statement is inside the building (waiting for our second and final day’s work tomorrow). We labored over whether or not to use education jargon, “buzz words.” We said no. I like this group! So far, it’s about the mission, not the fluff. We also discussed some of the parameters of how we’ll run advisory (the content emphases including community/relationship buildling, decision-making/life planning, and career/college prep). Each week we will use one of the three themes and build out the theme, shifting the next week.
In a warm-up activity, part of the work included articulating fears. Some suggested there might not be enough structure. How would we create buy-in? At the end of today’s meeting, we revisited our work, and the teachers expressed a more definitive sense of purpose and a sense of assurance that there will be good structure and programming. A lot of that structure is my responsibility. I humbly assess that information and hope I will honor it and do work worthy of the professionals with whom I’m working.
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